News of a third version of "Pokémon Sun and Moon" is rumored to be released for the upcoming Nintendo hybrid console the Nintendo Switch, just after the 2 versions went live for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is aptly titled "Pokémon Stars."
According to Eurogamer, the third version of "Pokémon Sun and Moon" is already in development and will launch in 2017. In the previous "Pokémon" games, a third version was also released after the two original versions came out, so this comes as no surprise.
However, the report also noted that third version of "Pokémon Sun and Moon," "Pokémon Stars," will be the mainline Pokémon game to be released in a separate console. And the Nintendo Switch will be the first Nintendo home console to receive a mainline Pokémon game.
For the Original "Pokémon Red and Blue" version for the Game Boy, "Pokémon Yellow" was the third game that came out and had extended features. For the DS Pokémon games, "Pokémon Platinum" came out for the "Pokémon Diamond and Pearl."
The Verge also reported that Game Freak, the studio behind all previous "Pokémon" games including the rumored third version of "Pokémon Sun and Moon" - paused developments on the "Pokémon Stars" to focus on predecessor before it launched. But developers have gone back to working on the console version.
The third version of "Pokémon Sun and Moon," "Pokémon Stars," will have the same maps and features of its predecessors, but may have expanded features that will utilize the hardware power of the Nintendo Switch. This means several features in "Pokémon Stars" will not be available in the "Pokémon Sun and Moon" versions.
Another feature cited by Eurogamer is the "Pokémon" trading between all Pokémon versions, including the rumored third version of "Pokémon Sun and Moon." The earlier two versions will be able to trade Pokémon with "Pokémon Stars" thru the Pokémon Bank app.
The Bank app is a 3DS online companion for the Pokémon storage system. The app is available in the Nintendo eShop.
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